I'm playing Scenario 1 solitaire to help me learn the rules. I have a few questions:

1. Before their first turn, the Germans are waiting off board. So their first phase in the entire game is their Movement Phase, where they move onto the board. Is that correct?

2. Victory conditions. The scenario says the Americans win if no Good Order German units occupy buildings N5, N6, M4, and L3 at the end of the game. Does this mean any of the buildings or all of them? In other words, if even just one German unit is in one of these buidings then the Americans lose?

3. When are Pin markers removed? At the beginning of that unit's next Movement phase?

Not certain but I think it is where you fire at concealed units to try to cause an NMC to reveal them. There is no concealment or Hidden Initial Placement in the first 2 Starter Kits. Maybe this was going to be included but then they changed their minds.

Yeah, that's strange. Area Fire is mentioned briefly in the rules and there is a prominent box about it on the Quick Reference card.

CLARIFICATION4. What is Area Fire? The rules don't explain much about this.

In Starter Kit #1 it may be a bit undefined, but see Starter Kit #2, where Rule 6.4 deals with fire attacks on Hidden Guns and their crews. Non-ordnance firepower (i.e. inherent FP and/or SW FP) is halved as Area Fire if attacking an 'empty' hex to find out if a Gun is hidden there.

Note also 6.9 where Mortars always use the Area Target Type in the To Hit process, and any (non-Critical) Hit by a Mortar is resolved on the IFT as Area Fire (i.e. at half the FP of that MTR's printed calibre, thus a 50* MTR is resolved on the 2FP column, an 81* MTR is resolved on the 8FP column of the table).

Area fire is a number of things that can cause FP to be halved. In ASLSKs this is limited to::Long range fire:By Pinned firer:Advancing fire phase:First or final fire counter is on the firing unit:Firing into a hex with a unit that has (is?) HIP (Not in ASLSK#1)

Area fire is cumulative, a pinend firer at long range will have their FP quatered.

Don't confuse this with 'Area Traget Type' which is a method Guns use when targeting the entire hex rather than a unit. Which doesn't occur in ASLSK#1.

Also, concealment does not feature in the SKs, and HIP only occurs for Guns in SK#2.

They are supposed to be set up on any whole hex on a random map board placed next to the map board being used for the scenario. All whole hexes of the off board map are treated as open ground. I just count the hex they start in as their first move.

So they would have to Prep fire from this offboard square before they moved?

So, for instance, in the Starter kit scenario 1, where the german moves first, it would start at the movement phase? Thus the first chance for either side to fire would be the Americans (DEFENDERS) with defensive first fire? And the only chance the Germans (ATTACKERS) have to fire in that first turn is during the advancing fire phase (or Close combat I guess)?

And if I wanted the germans to start in one of those wooded half hexes, I'd have to use two MF to get them there from off board?

So, for instance, in the Starter kit scenario 1, where the german moves first, it would start at the movement phase? Thus the first chance for either side to fire would be the Americans (DEFENDERS) with defensive first fire? And the only chance the Germans (ATTACKERS) have to fire in that first turn is during the advancing fire phase (or Close combat I guess)?

And if I wanted the germans to start in one of those wooded half hexes, I'd have to use two MF to get them there from off board?

During the rally phase you would have to place the German reinforcents on the board edges at their places of entry, and the next action would be movement onto the board. "Yes" to all other questions, although I don't think rolling in close combat is usually referred to as "firing".

...I don't think rolling in close combat is usually referred to as "firing".

Units in close combat are still firing their weapons, which is why an American squad with 6 FP has such an advantage in CC against a German squad with 4 FP. If this was simply 10 American soldiers vs 10 German soldiers in a non-shooting brawl, the odds would be even.

CC attacks are not called "firing" because they take place at VERY close range, are usually simultaneous, and involve comparing the attacker's FP to the defender's FP to determine an odds ratio (as in most traditional wargames). It's a completely different system from firing on the IFT, so a different terminology is used.

But wait! There's more! (useless ASL trivia follows...)

The old "Streets of Fire" Deluxe Module introduced an option for "Hand-to-Hand Close Combat" (HtH CC) which basically made CC much more deadly by increasing the CC Kill Numbers by two... but the odds are still figured normally by using FP, so the weapons are still firing even in HtH CC.

Strangely enough, HtH CC could only be used when playing on the deluxe boards with their large hexes, but it was later included with the famous "Red Barricades" historical module, and it can also now occur whenever Japanese troops are involved in close combat. The Japanese get a favorable DRM for HtH CC... primarily, I believe, so that they have a chance in CC against the high FP US Army and Marine squads.

primarily, I believe, so that they have a chance in CC against the high FP US Army and Marine squads.

and not when they are attacked, and this is a main reason why the USMC morale value debate ended in failure. Marine scenarios tend to work when they are grossly outnumbered [Cibik's Ridge] but not otherwise, which puts them in a category all of their own. Its a great pity that marine morale variation wasn't handled via the method of SSR, or that USMC morale wasn't portrayed by a range of units in the manner of the Army units.